The Kona Winds (6.4)

[Pahonu]

This episode also features my favorite of Magnum’s Aloha shirts: the one seen at the start of the show.

Isn’t that the light blue one with waves and sea spray on it? If I’m remembering correctly, it was somewhat muted and more naturalistic than typical bold aloha shirt designs with highly contrasting colors. It’s pretty unique among those that he usually wears.

[eagle]

I'm watching this episode today, and I caught this gem of an exchange:

: “Once nature sets its course, you can’t do anything to stop it.”
: “You can if you’re British!”

Love it. Surprised nobody commented about it before now.

[Little Garwood]

This episode also features my favorite of Magnum’s Aloha shirts: the one seen at the start of the show.

Isn’t that the light blue one with waves and sea spray on it? If I’m remembering correctly, it was somewhat muted and more naturalistic than typical bold aloha shirt designs with highly contrasting colors. It’s pretty unique among those that he usually wears.

Magnum (and his stuntman iirc) think highly enough of that shirt that he takes care to take it off before diving in to rescue Lauren!

The shirt makes a number of appearances during the sixth season. I’m sure someone here has taken count…

I’m still on the hunt for this shirt.

[ENSHealy]

If by “someone here” you meant me, then…you are correct, sir, yes!

By my count, as of episode 12 of Season 7 (which is as far as I’ve gotten compiling the Magnumometers) the shirt has appeared 18 times. Its first appearance was in episode 7 of season 5. The shirt can be seen on video in Seasons 5 and 6 at the two links below, and screen caps are after that.

Yes, I realize this may be indicative of someone with either too much time on their hands, or an inability to properly prioritize what free time they do have. Oh well, I plead guilty to one or both counts.

https://vimeo.com/571291849
https://vimeo.com/644442486

[Little Garwood]

If by “someone here” you meant me, then…you are correct, sir, yes!

By my count, as of episode 12 of Season 7 (which is as far as I’ve gotten compiling the Magnumometers) the shirt has appeared 18 times. Its first appearance was in episode 7 of season 5. The shirt can be seen on video in Seasons 5 and 6 at the two links below, and screen caps are after that.

Yes, I realize this may be indicative of someone with either too much time on their hands, or an inability to properly prioritize what free time they do have. Oh well, I plead guilty to one or both counts.

Well done, sir! I appreciate your efforts. I say this as a fellow classic tv obsessive who has been at this forum for 14 years!

The last time I watched seasons 5-8 was when I noticed the shirt showing up. It was particularly noticeable because Selleck wasn’t wearing Aloha shirts as often in S7-8 and when he did, it looked…odd. Maybe TS had gained weight or had “aged past” that look, but it was strange that he wasn’t sporting Aloha shirts as often.

[Blackmamba]

It seems odd that they would have to buy a washer and dryer. They couldn't have just borrowed a set from a crew member, or a friend? I gladly would have offered up mine, forever immortalized on film.

From what I've heard from friends who work in the biz, there's a ton of this sort of illogical spending happens on tv/movie sets. The cost is really insignificant when you compare it to paying all that crew to be there and all the equipment. Probably some liability issues as well. The best part about it for the crew is that they apparently get rid of stuff like that for nothing or next to nothing when you're done. Nice job perk!

I love this episode, by the way. The tone is much different from other Magnum episodes - almost feels like a tv movie. Something about Higgins in his rain gear prepping for the storm is really engaging. We've never really seen him dressed or behaving like this. When they reveal more sides to the man, he become more three-dimensional.



Although it lacks the lighthearted element that I love in most MPI episodes, Kona Winds is one of my faves.

I can confirm the spending on tv/movie sets. My husband was a union prop maker and worked on the movie Faceoff. He built a bench seat that was outside of FBI agent, played by John Travolta. He said it took him all day, cost 30,000 to build, then the scene was cut from the final showing. He griped about that every time we drove by one of the film locations when visiting Los Angeles!

[charybdis1966]

This is one of those small number of episodes I have absolutely no memory of seeing before so in that way it's a rare treat.

Aside from the surprise/twist ending Kona Winds shows how flawed a hero TM is. In the first 3 episodes of season 6 he has bedded a (very) recently widowed woman (Deja Vu) and now a married woman in this story.

Yes, it is uncomfortable to see the hero of a show behave like that no matter what the circumstances and justifications shown so perhaps we are seeing the first elements of an anti-hero starting to show. With flaws like that clearly TM is no Marty Stu (the male equivalent of a Mary Sue character) and it adds realism to his character. These darker elements of TM's character are also hinted at in the excellent thread by Mark de Croix here https://magnum-mania.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4632

I also liked the unsettling tone of the story, especially during the storm sections of the episode and TM's initial narration.

[Treadwell]

rating: 6.5 (Not So Good)

I do not buy the "Kona winds" conceit. It's a cop-out on the part of Magnum, and on the part of the writers.
DAMN is he stupid in this episode. He doesn't even figure it out himself: it takes a random encounter with Big Ed to clue him in.
And once again there's this bizarre concept that the police don't want you to report something (a murder, no less!) unless you come in with an ironclad case already built. And they just LOVE it if you bring in evidence illegally procured.

I don't know what Higgins thought he was accomplishing by cutting up that branch before the storm. Whole, it would probably be heavy enough not to be blown into the house. In pieces, well, you've just created shrapnel. And again the groundskeeper is forgotten when the script needs Higgins and/or Thomas to do the work instead. And I'd think the house would have pre-cut plywood stored for putting over the windows, rather than just using masking tape.

My favorite part was the secretary, who was uncredited but I looked it up. Kit McDonough has a very likeable, natural performance in a very Teri Garr vein.

I also wondered if that was a Māori Haka being performed at Rick's party. If that question has been answered in this thread, I missed it.

[Aloha Friday]

I always liked this one. One of my favorite movies back in those days was Body Heat with Kathleen Turner and William Hurt...very similar plot. Set in small town Florida during a heat wave. That one was a revision of Double Indemnity as someone mentioned earlier in this thread...starred Fred MacMurray, also a classic movie. I like Frank Converse too...he was in Moving On along with Claude Akins...wasn't he in a MPI episode too? That was a great show similar in style as Route 66. Converse was the college educated (a lawyer, I think) who wanted to drop out as see the country, like Martin Milner's character, Todd Styles in Rte 66. Akins was the street-wise travelling companion, a trucker...like George Maharis' character Buzz Murdoch from Hell's Kitchen, NY partnered with Todd Styles...seeing the country and running into some kind of adventure.
WRT the Social Security number thing...that was pretty common too. Maybe identity theft wasn't much of a thing then, but I remember having to write my SSN on just about everything back then.